London 2017 board gets shake-up after resignations

LONDON (Reuters) - An independent board has been put in charge of running next year's IAAF world athletics championships in London after a series of resignations muddled preparations for the event.

London 2017 managing director Sally Bolton quit this week while two other board members left their posts amid reports of differences with chairman Ed Warner.

A statement on Friday said Warner, who is also the head of UK Athletics which is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of next year's championships, would now work with a co-chairman appointed by the Greater London Authority.

"London 2017 Ltd has agreed a number of governance changes following a thorough review to ensure a clear separation of the day-to-day delivery led by UK Athletics to a more independent board with strategic direction and oversight of the championships," the statement said.

UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos takes on the position of championships director for the event and will be accountable to the London 2017 Board.

The re-structuring was welcomed by UK Sport.

"This new structure will ensure that we can more clearly separate the oversight function of London 2017 Ltd from the delivery function of UK Athletics," UK Sport's chief operating officer Simon Morton said.

"Better balanced boards make better decisions."

The world championships, the flagship event for the embattled International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) are being held in London for the first time.